1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to processing variable documents and, more particularly, to processing of electronic versions of variable documents to assemble print versions of the variable documents in an automated workflow.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
When a merchant, such as product or service provider, completes a transaction with a customer, the merchant provides a post-transaction document to the customer. The document typically includes a “Thank You” message and provides the customer with a record of the transaction. Often, the merchant provides the document in an electronic format, e.g., attached to an email or through a website. In addition to the electronic version of the document, the merchant may also send a print version of the document to the customer. The merchant formats and prints the document and ensures that the print version is properly addressed and placed in the mail stream to the customer so that the customer receives the print version in a timely manner. In addition, the merchant must also ensure that the content of the print version is consistent with the electronic version so that the customer does not receive contradictory information.
As the number of customers increase, the management and production of the electronic and print versions of the document sent to the customers becomes increasingly complex and expensive. In addition, most merchants generally send a variety of documents to the customers, such as, periodic statements, upgrade offers, service updates, and advertisements, which further increases the complexity and expense of managing and producing the documents. In order to simplify and reduce the costs of managing and producing a variety of documents sent to numerous customers, the merchant keeps the electronic and print versions as simple and uniform as possible. Thus, the merchant is discouraged from personalizing the documents for each customer.
Alternatively or in conjunction, the merchant sends the electronic versions to the recipients and instructs a printing facility to manage the production and delivery of the print versions. In this workflow, the burden shifts from the merchant to the printing facility to ensure that the print version is synchronized with the electronic version and that the print version is properly printed and delivered. The merchant may personalize the documents for each customer by increasing the amount of variable information in the electronic and print versions of the documents. Such personalized documents can be developed using variable print software, such as, QuarkXPress®, developed by Quark, Inc. of Denver, Colo. While the printing facility is often better equipped to manage the production of the print versions, the same issues regarding the complexity of the print job and production volumes still arise. Further, the printing facility often manages print jobs for a number of clients and, therefore, must balance the needs of its clients with demands on equipment, such as presses and finishing devices.
In an example workflow, the merchant sends one or more variable templates and a database that includes variable information specific to each recipient, e.g., a name and an address, to a printing facility. When a print request is received, the printing facility processes the template(s) and the database to generate a command stream that includes data and instructions for assembling the variable document for each recipient. The command stream is further processed to generate rasterized images of print versions of the variable document and the rasterized images are produced by one or more presses at the printing facility and finished by the finishing devices. However, in general, the time it takes to process the command stream and to generate the rasterized images is far greater than the time it takes to produce the rasterized images with the press(es). This is especially true for large print jobs that include multiple pages with images, color, and text. Consequently, the processing time lags behind the production time and use of the equipment at the printing facility is not optimized. Further, it becomes difficult to further personalize the content and layout of the document for each customer after the rasterized images are generated, because the rasterized images represent the finished print versions of the document.